Rangers outclass Ross County in Ibrox rout as Staggies remain outside Premiership relegation places
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Rangers 5 (Kent, Helander, Aribo, Jack, Goldson)
Ross County 0
Rangers extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership with a dominant win over Ross County at Ibrox.
There would have been no lack of confidence going into the contest for the Staggies after their 4-1 win over Aberdeen last time out, but they were under the cosh from the first minute in Glasgow.
It was not long after the first whistle that Rangers had a lead on the scoreboard.
Alfredo Morelos managed to get his head to a long ball into the box, popping it up for Ryan Kent who had plenty of space to guide his own header just inside Ross Laidlaw's far post.
It could have gone from bad to worse in the 13th minute when Morelos was taken down by Alex Iacovitti inside the County penalty area.
James Tavernier, so prolific throughout the campaign, stepped up to the spot but his effort was not a good one, and it was kept out by Laidlaw.
Rangers would make it two thanks to Filip Helander though in what was a frustratingly simple set piece from a County point of view.
Borna Barisic sent the ball into the middle, where the Swede had plenty of space to power the ball into the net.
The Staggies did have encouraging moments in the first half, with through balls on the counter attack seeming most likely to cause Steven Gerrard's men problems, but they did not have enough possession to pose a persistent threat.
Instead Joe Aribo made it three with a classy bit of skill, drifting past two County shirts on the right flank and curling the ball into the far corner from a tight angle.
County did come out fighting at the start of the second half though, with Harry Paton hitting the inside of the post straight from the restart.
Rangers were still having chances going forward, with Morelos testing the gloves on Laidlaw again, but Iacovitti then hit the crossbar in the 53rd minute after meeting Iain Vigurs' free kick.
The hosts would make the Staggies pay for not being a little more accurate though.
Ryan Jack, not long on the park as a substitute, started a flowing move that went through Cedric Itten and Ianis Hagi before coming back to the midfielder, who slotted past Laidlaw.
Connor Goldson would then put the cherry on top of a largely dominant performance from Rangers, heading another corner into the net with a little help from the post just under 10 minutes before the full time whistle.
